Improvement in locks



2 Sheets--Sheet 1.

Patented July 21,1874.

H. WINN;l

Locks.

7111114'Imrlllggllglg/Illli//l UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY \YINN, OF PIERMONT, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN LOCKS.

Specification foxming part of Letters Patent No. 153,415, dated July 21, 1874 application filed March 9, 1872.

OASE B.

To alt whom it may concern Be it known that I, HENRY W'INN, of Piermont, in the county of Rockland and State of New York, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Locks, whereof the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure lis a front view of the lock in its locked position. Fig. 2 is a section of the lock in its locked position, taken through the line x .r of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a section taken through the same line as Fig. 2, after the insertion of the key anda halfrevolution thereot', showing the position of the parts after said halfrevolution. Fig. 4 is a section taken through the line y y of Fig. 2, the tnlnblers being removed, showing the fence, the crossbar, the feathers on the rotating shell, and the ring behind the section. Fig. 5 is a section taken through the line e z of Fig. 3, showing the fence, the feathers on the rotating shell, and the ring behind said section. Fig. 6 is a side view of the rotating plug detached from the rotating' shell, containing the tumblers, in the position assumed by them after having been set by the key. Fig. 7 is an inner end view of said rotating plug, showing the frietional parts or furrin gs thereof, which hold the tumblers and tend to restrain their motion; also, a section of the rotating shell within which said plug is secured. Fig. Sis a section through the line I10 w of Fi g. 4, showing an edge view ofthe fence and the ribbed part thereof; also, a small section of the non-rotating plug and the slots therein, which contain the fence and its rib; also, a small section of the crossbir and rotating shell. Fig. 9 is a perspective view ofthe cross-bar, which restores the tumblers and holds them forward until the rotating shell is turned from its locked position. Fig. l0 is a perspective of one of the tumblers. Fig. 1l is a side view of the non-rotating plug and the screws whereby it is secured to the lock-plate; also, a section of the cross-bar in its slot. Fig. 12 is au end View ot' said nonrotating plug surrounded by a section of the rotating shell, showing its place therein. Fig. 13 shows the rotating' shell projected into a plane, showing the two grooves therein, which actuat-e the cross-bar backward and forward. Fig. 14 is a similar projection into a plane ot' the non-rotating' shell, showing the key-groove therein.

In the several figures the same letters indicate the same parts.

A is the lock-plate. B is the bolt, pivoted to the plate A by the screw C, so that the arc a is projected by rotation for the locked position, and the edge b for the unlocked position. D is the ring, bearing the teeth c c c, which impinge upon the projections d d1 cl2 d3 of the bolt B to rotate the same. The ring D is fastened to the rotating shell L by the feathers e e on said shell iitting in corresponding depressions in the ring. The circular portion o of said ring lies in the depression k2 when the bolt is in the locked-position, and in the de pression k1 when the bolt is in the unlocked position. E is the key, with a bit or projection, f, which guides and Agives longitudinal motion to the key by its rotation inf the groove' f/ eut in the stationary inclosing-shell F, which shell is secured to the lock-plate by the screws h h2. Said shell F has a supporting-notch, mf, in which the fence lies in an attempt to throw the bolt without setting the tumblers, and which supports the fence,

preventing it from damaging the interior of the lock until it is sheared off, or the shell L is twisted o", if sufiicient force'is applied. Gr is the fence, which is limited in its action to vertical motion by its rib t' reacting on the sides of the slot 7c in the stationary plug K, and by the reaction of its sides against the slot l in the same. The bottom of the fence is cut in the form of two inclined planes, m m, the fence being lifted out of the tumblernotches by the reaction thereupon of the uncut portion o ofthe rotating shell L. The upper portion of the` fence G is provided with the inclinations u n., whereby, in case the tumblers are not set whenk an effort is made to rotate the shell L to throw the bolt, the said uncut portion o lifts the fence away from contact with the faces of the parts of the tumblers which bear the fence-notches. H is the cross-bar, which is moved backward and -forward by means of the grooves r and s in the rotating shell L, vinto which are projected the ends p and q of the cross-bar. The forward motion restores the tumblers t t t t t tothe position shown in Fig. 2, and its backward niotion retracts it, to allow said tumblers to be projected, as shownin Fig. 3. It is held from rotation and confined in its motion by its bear ing in the slot a in the'stationary plug K. The ends of the cross-bar are eut diamond shape, with inclinations, as at p p' for purposes hereafter described. I is the rotating plug, which is screwed to and turns with the rotating shell L, and'is provided with the key-hole a. Vh en said plug Iis screwed to the rotating shell L it forms a part of the saine, acting in all rcspects as if it were made in one piece with said shell L. In the end of said plug I, and forming part of the same, are cut the furrings or frictional [parts i; u n o n, the recesses between the saine holding the circular` ends of the tumblers, while Y said furrings apply friction thereto to prevent unnecessary motion by jarring o`r propulsion, and to add to the force required to move the tumblers, and prevent picking by the feeling process. These furrings all" have the opening a at the bottoni of the key-hole, and they extend up to the dotted line b in said plug I. Beyond this line the plug I is solid, excepting the 'key-hole a', and the screwlioles to fasten it to the shell L. Thesaid furrings are cut away in various parts to insure elasticity, and sprung in and out upon the tumblers to give the requisite friction; K is the stationary pluggwhich is secured firmly to the lock-plate' by the screws c2 c2 through the `screw-holes cl c, and has a mortise, "g ,into which the rectangular ends of the tumblers enter, 'and by which the tumblers are held fromrotation, -which mortise is grooved at lto furnishguides for the tumblers, and to prevent'their interference. It has the slots l, k, and a, for purposes before described. The shell L is cut away to the residuuin parto, forming a slotfor the admission of the fence G; It bears the feathers e e, which enter into and rotate the ring D. Said `shell is also 'slotted in the end at d to admit the passage offthe projection f on the key, which works in the grooveg ofthe stationary shell F. The shell Lis prevented from being pulled ont by a shoulder, e', fitting in the stationary shell F. The tumblers ttt t tare made from concentric cylinders, whereof all except the central one arel hollow, bycutting away theends intended for the fence-notches, until the `curved rectangular portions, as at f', are left. The central tumbler is made from a solid cylinder, the end bearing the fence-notch having a flat surface milled upon it/which, reacting againstt-hel side of the mortise g', aids to keep it 1from revolving, and keeps the fencenotchl in an upright position.4 The tuinblers have the fence-notches t t" fi i i. The ends of thetumblers presented to thekey are the ends of concentric cylinders, whereof all. are hollowexcept the central one, which is solid. `By this construction, the ends presenting a constant bearing to the key-bits, the tuniblers can never collide with the key-sides, though for this purpose it is only necessary that the portions of the ends against which the key acts, each way, before the uncut part o brings up against the fence, should have this form, the tumblers being heldl thereafter by the fence.

The grooves g, r, and s in the shells F and L are annular through two-thirds of the circuniference of their containing-shells; then they form an ascending helix through onesiXth thereof, and a descending helix through the remaining one-sixth thereof. They are arranged harmoniously, so that the bit f of the key and the ends p `and q of the cross-bar are each always in a corresponding portion of their respective grooves.

The mode of operating the lock is as follows: The parts are supposed to bc in `the locked position shown in Figs. l and 2. On the keys insertion the projection j' enters by an opening the groove g. While being rotated, the key is advanced by the propul` sion of the operator, or, on failure thereof, by the reaction of the bitV f in the helical portion of the groove g. The cross-bar H atfthe beginning lies against the tuinblers and holds them out. While the key rotates the shell L, said shell projects `the helicaly portion of the groove r against the end qof the cross-bar H, and the same portion of `the groove s against the end p of thel crossibar, and said cross-bar advances in harmony with the key, and allows the tumblers to be projected thereby until the fence-notches t" t', Ste., are in line under the fence G. At the beginning of the rotation the fence is held up free from the tumblers, las seen in Fig. 4, by the uncut portiono of the rotating shell L; but this support is rotated' from under the fence while the key is advancing the tumblers, as aforesaid, and the fence G is allowed thereby to drop, by its own weight, upon the tumblers; or if the notches i z", &c., are correctly set into the same, as seen in Figs. 3 and 5, the said notches allow the fence Gr to fall far enough to admit the passage of the uncut portion o over the top of the fence G.' rIhe portion of the grooves g, r, and s containing the bit f on the key, and the ends 1J and q of the cross-bar, are now annular for a portion (two-thirds) of the revolution of the Vshell L, during which portion neither the key E nor the cross-bar II advances or recedes. While the cross-bar and key are in said portions of the grooves, the fence (l drops into the fence-notches t i', &c., the uncut part o passes over the top thereof, the bolt is operated, andthe fence G is lifted out of the fence-notches, as hereafter described, while the tuinblers are unaffected. As the key continues to rotate theshe-ll L the uncut part othereof advances until it strikes one of the inclined planes on m on the fence and lifts it out of the tumbler-notches. The return helical portions of the grooves r and s now reach their proper ends of `the cross-bar II, and drive said cross-bar against the tumblers,

and drive the tumblers forward until they are fully restored, during which operation the return helical port-ion of the groove g withdraws the key by action against the bit, if moving therein, so that itcannot interfere with the restoration of the tumblers.

During the first portion of the revolution of the shellIi, which may be made by a false key,) the circular portion of the ring D remains in the depression k1 or k2, holding the bolt iirinly iii its position until the time when the uncut portion 0 would iinpiiige against the fence if it had not fallen into the fence-notches, and then, while said uncut part o is passing over the fence,lthe teeth c c c on the ring act on the projections l d1 d2 cl3 on the bolt -until the curved parto of the ring comes into the other depression, lol or k2, and locks the bolt firmly in its new position. In case an attempt is made to rotate the bolt a second succeeding time in one direction7 one of the teeth c c strikes against the curved portion ll or l2 on tlie-bolt and prevents the saine.

The above description, with reverse revolutions, explains tlie process of unlocking, except that, in the locked position, the arc a of the bolt is projected beyond the lock-case, and thecurvedv portion of the ring rests in the depression cZ, while, in the unlocked position, the edge b coincides with the edge of the lockplate, and said curved part rests in kl..

In case the tumblers are not set correctly, when the uncut part o is rotated from under the fence G, said fence will drop on the tuinblers, and when said uncut part o reaches it, said part will iinpinge against the inclined plane nor a, and lift the fence away from the tumblers, and the fence, being in the support- `ing-notch m', must be sheared off before the bolt can be actuated.

. It is intended to construct the uncut part o weak enough to twist off before this can occur, so that violence shall merely sever the operators connection with the bolt without actuating it. r

It will be seen that the parts of the tuinblers which contain the fence-notches are arranged on one sideof that portion of the fence that carries its vertical bearing, to wit, on the side of the fence which receives the impact of the uncut part o at n, in the effort to unlock the bolt when the tumblers are not correctly set. If the fence G had a bearing to conti-ne it sidewise to vertical motion on the other side of the tumblers, (even if it had bearings on both sides of them,) and the fence had its necessary play, the reaction of the uncut part o on the inclinationa, in such case, wouldtilt over the fence, and for an instant before the fence was lif'ted would give some pressure on one or more of the notch-bearing faces of the tumblers and aid in picking by the feeling process. The present construction guards against the slightest pressure from this cause when the lock is locked, by tilting thevfencc away from all said notch-bearing faces inthe unlocking motion, and when the lock is locked the uncut parto cannot be brought against brings upon the bolt at lzbefore such impact.

This position of the tumblers on one side of the fence further gives room to admit the stationary plug K to inclose the fence. In this lock the tumblers do not rotate, being held by the inortise g. Ilie furringsv o, Svc., on the contrary, being part of the rotating' plug I, rotate over the cylindrical outside Ikends of the tumblers, and, at every rotation, wipe said tumblers wherever they touch them. These furrings are cut away at a', making an opening larger' than is required to admit the key, said opening being at the bottom of the key-hole, which opening may be of any desiredsize, leaving only sufhcient of the furring for strength. It is obvious that if wax be inserted into the key-hole, trusting to find a key impression, after operation of the lock by the true key, it can only be put in the ,open spaces between the tumblers projecting into the cut-away portion a at they bottom of the key-hole a', or the first introduction of the key will force it thereinto. Now, the first attempt to rotate the shell L and plug` Iwill wipe away the wax from the tumbler ends before receiving the keys impression, andwill carry away the wax into the opening a', and obliterate the impression, if made; and in case of any trace being left, it will finally be destroyed by the firin restorationof the tumblers by the. cross-bar.

A further advantage of rotating furrings is, that rotating with the key they do not interfere with its rotation. If they were stationary, the tumblers would require tobe lengtheneditofurnish, outside vthe furrings, thrustinotion to the key, or the furrings would collide with ,the key-side. Y Thus the variable parts ofthe tumblers must be shortened, and consequently the combinations reduced, or the lock-escutcheon mustbelengthened, so asto be adjustable only to thick doors. blers are concentric cylinders with projections on one end. If the fence-notches .were made in the sides of concentric cylinders, the fence would drop into them ser/lation, and the lock could be-pickedbyieelin g down the tumblers, one by one. Hence they must be cut so that feiice-notclies may be niade in suchinanner that the, fence will drop into all of them simultaneously, or nearly so. Afurther effect of this construction is this: the tumblers serve as bent levers, with their Vleverage against their forward projection, to create friction by causing a cramping motion. When the furrin gs are rotated, the spiral motion aids in overcoming the friction, as two adhering concentric ferriiles are separated easier by a torsional than by a direct pull. The pick-lock must feel down the tumblers by direct motion. rlhus a greater force4 is required to overcome the friction in detectionl of thenotches by feeling than is required to operate against the normal projection. of the tumblers by the key with rotation. These advantages are com- The tumbined with tumblers having motion, while being set, substantially rectilinear with the axis of the key; which have been used `because theyfafforda greater length of variable part, by utilizing the length of the shell containing them and the thickness of the lock, than any others, except .when the wing of the key or the shell itself is made of inconvenient size.

Another advantage of tumblers made of concentric cylinders, with the ends cut away suitablyto receive the notches, while the curved form ofthe notched part is preserved, is that they may be severally projected to any limit without touching or interfering with each other.

Tere it not so, additional length equal to the key-thrust would be required in the tumblers, and the number of combinations in proportion to* their length greatly reduced'.

The uncut Vpart o and the helical portions of the grooves 51,4', and s should occupy substantially `the sameproportion of the circumference of their respective shells. In the drawings they occupyone-third, but any proportion less' than one-half is possible therein. If the ends of thelcross-bar that t in the grooves were in the line of its length, and the proportions of its length operating in the two grooves o' and s below the inner surface of the shell L were equal-in other words, if the' grooves oc-v cupied the same longitudinal section of the shell, and were of equal depth-there would be a tendency in each end to enter the wrong groove. This might be obviated, first, by arranging the ends p and q farther apart in the direction of the shells axis than the movement of the cross-bar therein, in which case the grooves would not cross; second, by making one groove deeper and narrower than the other, with the part of the corresponding end of the cross-bar that moves in it longer and smaller than the part moving in the other groove third, by making the ends ofthe crossbar with unlike inclinations to the axial line of the cross-bar, with grooves to correspond, so that the sides of one groove should not be parallel to the sides of the other. In this case the second method has been adopted, so far following the iirst, however, that the annular part of the groove r lies mainly outside of the same part of the groove s to avoid catching the diamond point of the end p in said groove fr. Furthermore, it is evident, if one end, jp or q, be rotated in its groove s or 1', and the front face of it did not present an inclination to the sides of the groove-as, for instance, if the ends were square--that when said end changed the angle of its line of motion it would catch upon the side of the groove into which the line of its former motion projected would cut, and with the least sidewise 'play of -the cross-bar end inthe groove it would catch upon the poiutformed by the junction of the two grooves. (Hereinbefore the motion 0f the cross-bar in the grooves has been expressed instead of the rotation ofthe grooves over the cross-bar, the effects being the same when so referred to.) To obviate these diiliculties the ends p and q are made diamond shape toupresentthe most favorable inclinations, as p p,to both sides of the grooves, thoughthe circular, polygonal,

or other forms having inclinations might suf-4 fice. `Again, not more=than one vgroove is essential in place of r and s.Y A block of metal movingin the mortise g', with a bit similar to f on the key, would accomplish the purpose, though with more friction -5 and a `ring `surrounding the plugK, with projections corresponding to the ends p and q, and a projection against the tumbler ends, would suffice. An inclined surface passed over the tumbler ends directly, the tumbler-bearings doing the work of the cross-bar bearing a, might be used; but it could not be introduced into the rotating shell without reducing the strength of the plug K.

It is obvious that, so far as regards the restoration of the tumblers,A either the plug or the shell L might be made to rotate, the de vice simply requiring that one of them shall rotate while the other docs not; andit is further obvious that, so far as regards said restoration, the front surface of the groove or grooves is unnecessary, not being used therein.

The essential part of the invention for said* restoration consists in the use of anintervening piece or cross-bar, and an exterior shell or part, when the one has one or more projections and the other has one or more inclined surfaces, arranged relatively to said projection or project-ions, to reactfagainst the same when the one partakes of the rotary motion of the key at a time when the other does not, whereby the intervening piece or cross-bar is projected forward against the tumblers, to drive them forward at the time when they are required to be restored, said intervening piece or cross-bar having a guide bearing in an interior plug, allowing it to move forward, but otherwise limiting it to the motion or rest of said interior plug.

The drawing represents a right-hand cup board-lock. The screw-hole S in the part F, through which the screw h passes, is made like to, and interchangeable with, the screwhole S therein, through which the screw h2 passes relatively to the screw-holes in thc lock-plate, through which said screws pass, which are alike. The screw-holes r' r in thc plug K, into which the screws c2 c2 pass, are interchangeable relatively to the screw-holes c1 c1 in the lock-plate, through which said screws pass, which are also alike.

The feathers c e on the shell L are interchangeable relatively to the depressions in the ring D, receiving the same. Thus, if the parts L and F, with the whole portion of the lock contained therein, be turned ha-lf round, and screwed to the lock-plate in their new position, with the feat-hers e e interchanged in their position in the ring D, the lock becomes a left-hand cupboard-lock.

Vhat I claim, and for which I desire Letters Patent to be granted, is

l. The tumblers of a lock bearing fence notches, when constructed with ends which are impinged to set,-said notches having the forms of the ends of concentric cylinders.

2. The arrangement of the portions of the tumblers which bear the fence-notches on one side of the bearing-rib i of the fence, and its s lot k, for the purposes set forth.

3. The combination, for the purposes set forth, with the tumblers of a lock which have a motion when being set substantially rectilinear with the axis ofthe key, of a set of furrings which partake of the rotary motion of the key, while the tumblers do not.

4. The chamber or opening a in the furrings adjacent to the key-hole n', for the purpose set forth.

5. An intervening piece or cross-bar combined with an exterior shell or part, vwhen the one partakes of the rotary motion of the key at a time when the other does not, and when the one has one or more projections and the other has one or more inclined surfaces, the projection or projections on the one being arranged relatively to the inclined surface or surfaces on the other, as described, to drivev forward the intervening piece or cross-bar by` the rotation of the one whenwthe other is stationary, both combined with an interior plug having a bearing for the intervening piece or cross-bar, and with a set of tumblers located 7. A key-groove in ,the stationary shellF,

having an inclinedy portion `similar to the inclined part of a groove in the revolving shell L, used injrestoring the tumblers, and .ar-- ranged, relatively to the inclined part of said,

groove, in the manner described.

8. The combination of a keyand a rotating shell having a key-hole with av system of tumblers which have a motion substantially rectilinear with the keys axis while being set by said key, and which arerestored by a force4 transmitted through said rotary shell from the key acting in said key-hole.

y HENRY WINN. Executed in presence of EDWIN S. BRAKE, E. J. BUTLER. 

